Development of a Machine Vision-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System for Lodged Wheat

Authors

  • Xiaoyan Liu School of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Mechanical and Electrical Polytechnic, China
  • ZhongLin Xia School of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Mechanical and Electrical Polytechnic, China
  • Bin Li School of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Mechanical and Electrical Polytechnic, China
Volume: 16 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 37070-37076 | June 2026 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.18790

Abstract

This study develops an intelligent processing system that integrates monitoring, identification, and assessment of lodged wheat to address yield loss during mechanical harvesting caused by lodging in precision agriculture. This system provides decision support for automatic header adjustment and disaster assessment. The system uses Visual C++ as the integrated development platform and comprehensively applies machine vision technology. Features of the lodged straw layer were enhanced through color difference analysis, linear grayscale transformation, and grayscale inversion. Image enhancement was achieved using median filtering. Precise segmentation of the straw layer and wheat ear layer was realized using mathematical morphology methods (erosion and dilation). Combining Roberts operator edge detection and Hough Transform line detection, lodging boundaries were extracted, and the lodging height difference was calculated. A fully functional software system was successfully developed. The system accurately identifies lodging areas, with detected lodging boundaries showing high conformity to actual conditions, and calculated height difference parameters prove reliable. The system achieved automated processing from image input, providing an effective technical solution for reducing harvest losses in precision agriculture.

Keywords:

precision agriculture, lodged wheat monitoring, machine vision, target segmentation, height difference assessment

References

X. Wei et al., "Comprehensive Risk Fine Dynamic Assessment and Zoning of Maize High Wind Lodging Disasters in Jilin Province, China," European Journal of Agronomy, vol. 170, Sep. 2025, Art. no. 127710.

Y. Wang et al., "Changes in the Lodging Resistance of Winter Wheat From 1950s to the 2020s in Henan Province of China," BMC Plant Biology, vol. 23, no. 1, Sep. 2023, Art. no. 442.

S.-W. Feng, Z.-G. Ru, W.-H. Ding, T.-Z. Hu, and G. Li, "Study of the Relationship Between Field Lodging and STEM Quality Traits of Winter Wheat in the North China Plain," Crop & Pasture Science, vol. 70, no. 9, pp. 772–780, Oct. 2019.

S. Feng, C. Shi, P. Wang, S. Chang, T. Hu, and Z. Ru, "STEM Characteristics and Yield of Wheat is Regulated to Improve Planting Efficiency and Reduce Lodging Risk by Fertilizer Rate and Irrigation Stage," Agricultural Water Management, vol. 306, Dec. 2024, Art. no. 109192.

X. Chen, X. He, W. Wang, Z. Qu, and Y. Liu, "Study on the Technologies of Loss Reduction in Wheat Mechanization Harvesting: A Review," Agriculture, vol. 12, no. 11, Nov. 2022, Art. no. 1935.

L. Hou et al., "In-Field Harvest Loss of Mechanically-Harvested Maize Grain and Affecting Factors in China," International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 29–37, 2021.

H. Tian, T. Wang, Y. Liu, X. Qiao, and Y. Li, "Computer Vision Technology in Agricultural Automation—A Review," Information Processing in Agriculture, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–19, Mar. 2020.

Z. Tian, W. Ma, Q. Yang, and F. Duan, "Application Status and Challenges of Machine Vision in Plant Factory—A Review," Information Processing in Agriculture, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 195–211, Jun. 2022.

E. Mavridou, E. Vrochidou, G. A. Papakostas, T. Pachidis, and V. G. Kaburlasos, "Machine Vision Systems in Precision Agriculture for Crop Farming," Journal of Imaging, vol. 5, no. 12, Dec. 2019, Art. no. 89.

S. Alqethami, B. Almtanni, W. Alzhrani, and M. Alghamdi, "Disease Detection in Apple Leaves Using Image Processing Techniques," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 8335–8341, Apr. 2022.

A. Azizi et al., "Comprehensive Wheat Lodging Detection After Initial Lodging Using UAV RGB Images," Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 238, Mar. 2024, Art. no. 121788.

S. Biswal, C. Chatterjee, and D. R. Mailapalli, "Damage Assessment Due to Wheat Lodging Using UAV-Based Multispectral and Thermal Imageries," Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 935–948, May 2023.

J. Shin, M. S. Mahmud, T. U. Rehman, P. Ravichandran, B. Heung, and Y. K. Chang, "Trends and Prospect of Machine Vision Technology for Stresses and Diseases Detection in Precision Agriculture," AgriEngineering, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 20–39, Dec. 2022.

M. Kumar, B. K. Bhattacharya, M. R. Pandya, and B. K. Handique, "Machine Learning Based Plot Level Rice Lodging Assessment Using Multi-Spectral UAV Remote Sensing," Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, vol. 219, Apr. 2024, Art. no. 108754.

B. Wang, J. Zhou, M. Costa, S. M. Kaeppler, and Z. Zhang, "Plot-Level Maize Early Stage Stand Counting and Spacing Detection Using Advanced Deep Learning Algorithms Based on UAV Imagery," Agronomy, vol. 13, no. 7, Jun. 2023, Art. no. 1728.

J.-P. Stander, I. Fabris-Rotelli, T. Loots, J. Van Niekerk, and A. Stein, "An Edge Preserving Median Filter for Images Based on Level-Sets," Journal of Data Science, Statistics, and Visualisation, vol. 4, no. 3, Jun. 2024.

B. Devkota, A. Alsadoon, P. W. C. Prasad, A. K. Singh, and A. Elchouemi, "Image Segmentation for Early Stage Brain Tumor Detection Using Mathematical Morphological Reconstruction," Procedia Computer Science, vol. 125, pp. 115–123, 2018.

M. Azarafza, A. Ghazifard, H. Akgün, and E. Asghari-Kaljahi, "Development of a 2D and 3D Computational Algorithm for Discontinuity Structural Geometry Identification by Artificial Intelligence Based on Image Processing Techniques," Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, vol. 78, no. 5, pp. 3371–3383, Jul. 2019.

D. Bailey, Y. Chang, and S. Le Moan, "Analysing Arbitrary Curves from the Line Hough Transform," Journal of Imaging, vol. 6, no. 4, Apr. 2020, Art. no. 26.

Downloads

How to Cite

[1]
X. Liu, Z. Xia, and B. Li, “Development of a Machine Vision-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System for Lodged Wheat”, Eng. Technol. Appl. Sci. Res., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 37070–37076, Jun. 2026.

Metrics

Abstract Views: 8
PDF Downloads: 5

Metrics Information